January 26, 2021 - Inciting Delight
Our Interview with Will Fagg of TinyBrickOven in Baltimore, MD
What were you doing before pizza?
Will: For work, I was an operating room nurse and a part-time AirBnB Superhost, But cooking and hospitality were always a part of my family traditions and I have always loved cooking for guests during summer cookouts and holiday gatherings, or even just to have friends over for dinner :)
Of all the foods in the world, what was it about pizza that intrigued you enough to make it the centerpiece of your life?
Will: For me, there is something special about the intersection of man and machine and pizza for me, really represents one of the intersections where a better oven can have a large impact on the quality of your pizza. My pizza journey began with a desire to make great food for my AirBnB guests, and the idea that if I had a cool pizza oven in my backyard, it would create some great memories! But since I was pretty broke, I ended up converting an old weber grill into a pizza oven, with help from a friend we improved this design until It was usable for commercial purposes until I was invited to start vending pizza at music festivals! So that quickly accelerated my backyard hobby into a business! We still had some great backyard parties even with my super basic, home-built pizza oven, and I have some friendships and memories that will last a lifetime!
What are some of the ways you've been giving back to the Baltimore community, particularly since COVID hit?
Will: Since the pandemic hit I quickly redesigned our portable hand washing sink (that we used at festivals to meet health code) into a less expensive easily deployable sink. I was really hoping Home Depot would make kits available for these at all stores, but I put videos on YouTube that show how you can build your own, and we got a little coverage on the news for them after that several people emailed asking for the link to the videos.
We have done several free meal events for the homeless including Easter and Thanksgiving.
We now have our Pay It Forward program so the homeless and hungry can come in anytime to get 2 free slices and a soda.
We also try to do some fun free things including putting a snow machine in front of our store for kids to play in, I like to say it is our mission to incite delight!
I have been an advocate for all Baltimore restaurants and met with Eric Costello (Baltimore city council member) maybe 8 weeks ago resulting in proposed legislation for 3rd party delivery fee caps during the pandemic (DC has already done this) and Costello introduced the bill.
We were working on creating our own delivery app for all Baltimore restaurants, but we were not able to get funding for this yet
If you could only serve one pizza (besides the Margherita) what would it be and why?
Will: Our New York Style cheese pizzas are also one of our favorite pizzas, there is something about the simplicity and perfection of a well-made cheese slice that just makes it irresistible, the perfect golden delicious brown crust, the crispy bottom, and the perfect balance of sauce and an east coast blend cheese that is just unforgettable!
At such a tricky time for restaurants and other small businesses, what are you most excited about right now?
Will: I have been very excited to see how our communities and neighbors have pulled together to help each other. It's nice to know we will all get through this together. We have even given our first Zoom make at home pizza class, which we might try again for Valentine’s day so people stuck at home can have a romantic make-at-home pizza night!